Monday 29 April
- Trading statement from Beazley
- German inflation
- In Asia, quarterly results from BYD
- In Europe, quarterly results from BBVA, Philips and Vivendi
- In the US, quarterly results from NXP Semiconductor, ON Semiconductor, Domino’s Pizza, Yum! China, Paramount Global, Sofi Technology, AMKOR, Rambus and Transocean
Tuesday 30 April
- Full-year results from Whitbread and Card Factory
- Trading updates and quarterly results from HSBC, Glencore, Prudential, Coca-Cola HBC, Rotork and Howden Joinery
- British Retail Consortium shop price index
- UK mortgage approvals
- Japanese industrial production
- Chinese purchasing managers’ indices (PMIs) for manufacturing and services
- EU inflation
- US Case-Shiller house price index
- US Conference Board consumer confidence
- In Asia, quarterly results from Samsung Electronics, ICBC, Foxconn and SAIC Motor
- In Europe, quarterly results from Mercedes Benz, Volkswagen, Stellantis, Banco Santander, Adidas, Carlsberg, Logitech, Bank of Ireland, Lufthansa and Air France-KLM
- In the US, quarterly results from Eli Lilly, Coca-Cola, AMD, McDonald’s, Stryker, Eaton, Starbuck’s, Mondelez, PayPal, 3M, Pinterest, Cameco, Clorox, Skyworks and Molson Coors
- Amazon Q1 update
Amazon will post its first-quarter results on Tuesday, creating another marker for Magnificent Seven stocks, which as a group account for a third of the S&P 500’s valuation.
After nearing a $2trn market cap in April, Amazon’s shares were up by around 20% from the beginning of the calendar year and two-thirds in the past year, placing it behind just behind Nvidia and Meta.
Russ Mould, AJ Bell investment director, Danni Hewson, AJ Bell head of financial analysis, and Dan Coatsworth, AJ Bell investment analyst, said: “One of the reasons behind this stunning run is Amazon has re-established its powerful earnings momentum, which was briefly lost in late 2021 and early 2022, as fears of a recession gathered, inflation and interest rates rose, and oil prices increased input costs.
“Another is the perception that Amazon is a winner in the race to lead, and monetise, the development of generative AI, thanks in particular to its cloud-service business AWS which makes far more money than the US and International retail arms and is the real heart of the business now. That said, North America roared back in 2023 to also record its highest-ever quarterly and annual operating profit, buoyed by free-spending US consumers.”
Analysts have estimated that Q1 sales will be near $142.5bn, representing 12% year-on-year growth. Operating profit is expected to be between $8bn and $12bn, compared to last year’s $4.8bn in Q1.
“By business, AWS continues to generate consistent double-digit percentage sales growth and online sales are recapturing their mojo,” the AJ Bell trio said.
“Subscription services (such as Prime) are starting to blossom as Amazon takes on all comers in the media and content race, while the only areas of any concern have been a slowdown in physical store sales and a soft end to 2023 for advertising.”
While Amazon does not pay a dividend and has not recently participated in share buybacks, it does continue to invest and acquire companies. In 2023, however, capital investment was under 10% of sales, which has not happened since 2019, the AJ Bell team said.
“Strategically, Amazon has an amazing number of moving parts. Alongside the fourth-quarter results, Mr Jassy flagged developments in AI, satellite broadband, the Amazon bedrock large language model, Trainium2 silicon chips and the Sequoia warehouse robotics system,” Mould, Hewson, and Coatsworth said.
“Analysts and shareholders will look for updates here, with the AI-powered Rufus shopping assistant, advertising tools and the Project Kuiper broadband satellite network particular sources of interest.”
Wednesday 1 May
- Full-year results from HSS Hire
- Trading updates and quarterly results from GSK, Next, Haleon, Smith & Nephew, Computacenter, Aston Martin Lagonda and Domino’s Pizza (UK)
- Purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for manufacturing in Japan, the UK and USA
- US Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS)
- US ADP monthly payrolls survey
- US car sales
- US oil inventories
- In Europe, quarterly results from Wolters Kluwer
- In the US, quarterly results from Mastercard, Qualcomm, Pfizer, KKR, CVS, Equinix, Kraft-Heinz, Yum! Brands, Barrick Gold, eBay, Franco-Nevada, MGM Resorts, Qorvo, Zillow, Carvana, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Liberty Global and Wolfspeed
- US Federal Reserve meeting
The US Federal Reserve will meet for the third time this year on Wednesday, though expectations for changes following the meeting remain low.
The Fed Fund rate has remained at 5.5% since last August and early forecasts of rate cuts have been continually pushed down the schedule. Quantitative tightening (QT) is also expected to continue its pace at $95bn per month.
“The main interest at this meeting may lie with QT, given March’s hints from Mr Powell that it may soon be appropriate be reduce the rate of tightening here,” Mould, Hewson, and Coatsworth said.
“That said, the Fed chair has started to back off from the line he has taken since last autumn, namely that interest rates would come down soon, so he may refine his position on QT, too.”
Inflation concerns stay relevant in the US as the consumer price index sits at 3.5% year on year and the personal consumption expenditure index has risen, now at 2.5% for headline reading.
“However, financial markets are busy pricing out interest rate cuts. They began the year looking for six one-quarter point interest rate reductions from the Fed, with the first one in March,” the AJ Bell team said.
“The CME Fedwatch service now suggests markets are looking for two cuts, down to 5.00%, by the end of the year, with the first one coming in September, and just two more by autumn 2025.”
Thursday 2 May
- Trading statements and quarterly results from Shell, Standard Chartered, Melrose Industries, Endeavour Mining, Hiscox, Spectris, Lancashire, Grafton, Morgan Sindall, TI Fluid Systems and SIG
- Purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for manufacturing in Europe
- US factory orders
- Challenger, Gray & Christmas job cuts survey
- US weekly initial unemployment claims
- In Japan, quarterly results from Japan Airlines
- In Asia, quarterly results from Budweiser APAC
- In Europe, quarterly results from Novo Nordisk, Universal Music, Vestas Wind Systems, AP Møller-Maersk, Arcelor Mittal, AIB and Pandora
- In the US, quarterly results from Linde, ConocoPhillips, Amgen, Thomson Reuters, Zoetis, Coinbase Global, Moderna, Cummins, Ingersoll Rand, Zimmer Biomet, Baxter, Illumina, DraftKings, US Steel, Wendy’s, ShakeShack and Peloton
Friday 3 May
- Full-year results from Trainline
- First-half results from Smiths News
- Trading statement from InterContinental Hotels
- UK purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for services
- US non-farm payrolls
- US wage growth
- US unemployment rate
- In Europe, quarterly results from Daimler Truck, Legrand, Société Générale and Shurgard
- In the US, quarterly results from Hershey and Goodyear
